The Board Game We'll Play
by CrossfireBullet
Summary: Sequel to Until the End written in Inugami's point of view. Full summary inside. Read and review, please. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INUGAMI!
1. Waking Up

**Ah, November 4- Inugami's birthday XD**

**This fic's the sequel to Until the End. Most of the chapters will be oneshots that could be lighthearted or dramatic until it starts picking up a plot. Since Until the End's based off the anime, so is this. Chapters that don't have a "part 2" and stuff don't happen right after each other but rather, happen after unsaid periods of time(So I guess you could say they're not interconnected. Yeah, just wanted to clear that up).  
**

**There's also some slight Tamazuki/Inugami but only if you think like that.  
**

**If this goes well, I might write a sequel.  
**

**ENJOY!**

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Ears perked at the sounds of the outside - a sign of waking. A small white pup opened its eyes to the sight of his master still sound asleep.

_Is it morning already?_

The pup's name was Inugami...or at least that's what he used to be called. Right now, he was just a nameless stray puppy following someone around.

"Tamazuki, wake up," he whined, nuzzling his master's hand. _It's not good to oversleep._

Seeing no reaction from the boy, Inugami pawed at his master's nose and licked it.

_Come on, wake up!_

Tamazuki moaned sleepily and brought his arm down on the poor pup. The latter sighed, struggling to break free from the weight. A few weeks ago, he was a yokai in his master, Tamazuki's, Night Parade. The battle against the Nura Clan lead to a betrayal on Tamazuki's part that cost Inugami his life. Afterwards, he found himself reincarnated as a puppy and began following Tamazuki once more. After all, he did promise him he'd follow him until the end. Right now, he was in the middle of waking up his sleeping master. Unfortunately, nothing he tried seemed to work.

When he finally got out, he tried licking Tamazuki's face again only to be stopped once more by a hand. With a sleeping face nuzzling into his scruff, he lost all patience.

"TAMAZUKI, WAKE UP!" he barked. This attempt was successful. Tamazuki opened his eyes and sat up.

_I'm glad you're awake Tamazuki!_

Inugami rubbed himself against his now-awake master's thigh. Tamazuki himself stated that he would not be pampering him. Inugami really didn't mind, though. Showing unrequited affections would be just like before although sometimes, he wished he'd get at least a pet from Tamazuki.

"Are you going to follow me again today?" Tamazuki asked, bringing his index finger close to his puppy's nose.

"Of course!" was Inugami's reply in a form of a high-pitched bark before he started licking Tamazuki's finger.

He still had to show Tamazuki the loyalty he showed before. To him, it was like playing a real-life board game and landing on a spot saying"GO BACK TO START". Still, that was just fine, after all, this meant that they had a chance to start over again.

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**Comments? Please review :)**


	2. Doggy Tricks for Beginners

**(To Addicted to Nurarihyon no Mago)**

**Inugami: Thanks, ATNNM! Not a lot of people remembered my birthday. Heh, I never had that much friends to begin with. Tamazuki and I are okay, by the way. Nothing out of the ordinary. It's not like he's carrying me around and pampering me or anything**  
**CrossfireBullet: *cough*notyet*cough***  
**Inugami: That would just be out of character.**  
**CrossfireBullet: *sneeze*characterdevelopment*sneeze***  
**Inugami: ...What?**  
**CrossfireBullet: What? Can't I cough and sneeze? I have a cold!**  
**Inugami: ...no you don't...**  
**CrossfireBulet: Glad you liked it, ATNNM! I actually procrastinated that first chapter for a long time then rushed it when it was almost Nov.4 XD**  
**Inugami:No seriously, what were you-**  
**CrossfireBullet: I didn't say anything!**

**Anyway, here's the second chapter! Enjoy!**

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Inugami stared at Tamazuki's book with his adorable puppy eyes. Lately, his master had been ignoring him in favor of reading the book. Whatever its contents were, he had no idea.

Finally, Tamazuki put the book down and sat in front of Inugami. He pointed his index finger to the ground in front of him. "Sit," he said.

_...Are you serious, Tamazuki?_ Inugami could not believe that his master would actually CONSIDER doing this. Not seeing the point of learning tricks he already knew how to do, he just sniffed at Tamazuki's finger and licked it.

"Sit," Tamazuki said more firmly.

"Tamazuki, you should just give up. You're wasting your time," Inugami barked. He playfully pawed at Tamazuki's hand and wagged his tail. Ironically, being a small defenseless puppy somehow gave him the guts to defy the cold-hearted, comrade-killing tanuki.

"I said, SIT," Tamazuki said once more.

_Fine, fine. I'll sit. _Tired of this redundancy, Inugami gave in to Tamazuki's orders. _There, I sat. Happy now?_

Seeing that his orders were followed, Tamazuki scratched him behind the ears a little, causing his puppy to react by kicking. "Lie down, " he said.

Wanting more rewards of affection, Inugami quickly followed, sprawling on the floor. These scratches and pets were short and simple, but they meant a lot to him.

Just as he thought, Tamazuki gave him a quick pat on the head. He quickly checked his book first before giving the next command. "Stay," he said. He stood up and walked a few paces and glanced back at his puppy to see if it had moved.

_You don't have to do that, Tamazuki. I'm not going anywhere._ Inugami stayed. He wanted another pet from Tamazuki, but as soon as he saw Tamazuki open the door, he got back up to his feet and ran up to him.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going!?" he whimpered. _Don't just leave me here! I'll go with you!_

Tamazuki's expression was now what his expression was like when he first found Inugami- his normal expressionless face with a hint of surprise. _"Are you going to follow me?"_ he had asked that time.

Inugami kept his eyes on him. He didn't want him to leave, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him when Tamazuki closed the door and sat back down in front of him. Inugami looked into his master's eyes, then for awhile the expression in Tamazuki's eyes seemed to change.

"Roll over," was Tamazuki's final command.

Inugami quickly did as he was told, earning two strokes on the back. Happy with their accomplishments(and the petting), he jumped onto Tamazuki's lap, circled it then lay down to nap.

Hopefully, "sit", "lie down", "stay" and "roll over" were the only tricks he'd have to learn. He wouldn't mind learning more, though, if it meant Tamazuki petting him more often.

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**Reviews? :3**


	3. First Bath

Inugami's eyes followed a fluttering butterfly. Its wings were bright yellow in color and its continuous movements of up and down taunted him. After fluttering around in the air for awhile, said butterfly alighted ever so lightly on top of a small flower. Inugami crept quietly out the door of his master, Tamazuki's hut- one of the many little residences in the mountain. Even as it was on top of a flower, the butterfly's wings moved ever so slowly.

Finally, Inugami could take it no more.

"Come here!" he yipped. He pounced on the flower but missed his target. Determined to get his paws on that carefree little butterfly, he jumped into the air continuously, pawing at the butterfly and then chasing it.

After landing in the mud, falling into a pile of leaves and rolling in the grass, Inugami gave one more pounce. He narrowly missed and watched the butterfly fly away victoriously. Whimpering, he made his way back to Tamazuki who had been watching his little attack the whole time. He stopped, noticing a tamazusa leaf- the leaf that his master was originally named after - on the ground. Feeling cute like the adorable little puppy he is, he picked it up with his mouth.

Playfully, he caressed Tamazuki's hand with the lead that hung out of his mouth. "Look, Tamazuki! A tamazusa leaf! It's you!" he barked, after setting it down on his master's lap.

Tamazuki blinked at his puppy's little "offering". As if trying to hold back a smile, he shook his head and carried his puppy by the scruff to a basin of water. Inugami playfully pawed at Tamazuki's hand as he silently complimented himself on how cute his leaf offering was.

Then without warning.

He was dropped into the water.

"Cold!" he yipped as he tried to jump out of the water. Before he could say anything more, though, he was dunked back into the basin of cold water.

"Tamazuki, I swear, you are the one person I know with absolutely no empathy!" he barked as the process of attempting to escape and being thrown back in repeated. After what felt like a hundred rounds of that, the poor, shivering puppy was finally let out of the basin.

Before anything else could happen, Inugami scampered to the far side of the room. He was cold, wet, shivering and he hated it. He watched Tamazuki bring out a towel and make his way towards him. Then just as he was going to wrap the towel around him, he stepped back.

Inugami watched as Tamazuki looked at him confused. Then as if he suddenly understood Inugami's situation, Tamazuki hesitantly stretched his hand out to him. Feeling warmth from body heat emanating from that hand, Inugami quickly nuzzled against it.

Tamazuki wrapped the towel around the pup and rubbed it against its fur. Enjoying the warm comfort, Inugami let himself be lifted up into Tamazuki's arms.

"The water was a little too cold, wasn't it? I'll have to fix that next time. Take care to remind me if I forget lest you want to splash around in cold water again," Tamazuki said, stroking his pup's cold fur.

The pup yipped his reply and continued nuzzling against his master's warm chest. Who knew a cold-blooded killer could be so warm?

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**Inspiration for the leaf part came from a friend of mine. She told me a story of how one of her dogs was chasing around her other dog with a LEAF. Said dog would give it to others as if it were some kind of gift. It sounded so cute X3**

**As for about the houses in Shikoku being a collection of little huts, I got that from staring at the NuraMago manga panels XD  
**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed that chapter! Reviews would be much appreciated!**

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!**


	4. Beneath the Leaves' Surface

It was a bright and sunny day in Shikoku. Warm, breezy- the perfect weather for sleeping. That being said, it was no surprise that Inugami lay curled up in his master's sheets, contemplating on things. His ears perked and he got to his feet when he heard Tamazuki stand.

"I'm going for a walk," he said "will you join me?"

_Sure! _For the entire time they've been together, Inugami had never really been outside. This was an opportunity to see what Tamazuki's home life was like.

Out the door and on the path the went. Inugami kept close at his master's heels. He saw numerous huts, trees and flowers around them, but no tanuki.  
_I wonder where everyone went._ Then as soon as they made the curve, his questions were answered.

There were numerous tanuki along the path now. Full of joy an laughter, but as soon as they caught sight of Tamazuki, they all silenced. Some turned away, others froze in fear, most stepped back and a few bravehearts looked at him with disgust. Inugami looked at them, then at Tamazuki.

Expressionless- as if he didn't notice anything. That's how Tamazuki looked. Inugami though, just knew he noticed it, too. A part of him was scared of what Tamazuki might do to them, and the other part was slightly angry at them for looking at Tamazuki like that.

"G-good day...T-Tamazuki-sama..." he heard one shy tanuki say.

"Hmph. Look at him," he heard a braver one whisper to the others "he waged war on the Nura Clan, killed our comrades and lost."

Inugami's eyes shifted to Tamazuki's. Still, not a hint of emotion.

"Failure as shameful as the scar on his face."

"An embarrassment."

"Shh...he might hear you."

From the corner of his eye, Inugami saw a young tanuki girl try to approach Tamazuki and offer him tea only to be stopped by an older tanuki male. Said male just shook his head and the girl stepped back in line.

Then they reached the end of the tanuki crowd and were now passing by a clearing filled with tanuki statues. Sitting in the middle of the clearing was the Inugamigyobu Danuki- Tamazuki's father.

"Tamazuki," he said with his big voice.

Tamazuki stopped, so did Inugami. "...Good day, father."

"It's been a long time since I saw you out of your room. Where are you off to?"

"Just going for a walk."

Inugami thought that that was all. Then Inugamigyobu Danuki said "I trust you haven't forgotten your lesson."

Tamazuki was about to walk off but as soon as he heard that statement. "...Of course not, father." Then something flashed in his eyes, but before Inugami could get a closer look, Tamazuki turned away and walked off.

_This is nothing like what I expected. I thought that they'd all worship Tamazuki as much as I did. Then again, it's also not surprising that they'd treat him this way after all the things he's done. _Inugami contemplated this. Then he snapped back to reality when Tamazuki stopped in front of the memorial made for his fallen comrades. It was made on the very cliff where Inugami first found Tamazuki after reincarnating as a puppy.

Tamazuki sat on a nearby log under a nearby tree. He sat facing towards the sea, the breeze blowing on his face. Inugami sat next to his feet. All that happened earlier was bothering him. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He observed Tamazuki, studying his body language. Everything about him was perfectly normal save for one thing- he was gripping his kimono. For a second, his hands trembled, then that same emotion from awhile ago flashed in his eyes.

And Inugami realized he knew that emotion. He knew it all too well. It was what he had always been feeling his entire life before Tamzuki showed him that there was a place for him. It was what went on in him every time he passed by his schoolmates, seeing them grouped together by friends, mocking him, jeering at him, ostracizing him.

_Tamazuki, I had no idea..._ Never in his life did Inugami think that these things happened to Tamazuki, let alone affected him. All this time, he thought that Tamazuki was his total opposite- unable to feel hurt, unable to be shunned. Now he could see that they weren't so different after all, that amazing, powerful Tamazuki had his own painful cracks.

Inugami stood on his hind legs, leaning his paws on Tamazuki's thighs for support. He gazed at Tamazuki's face, not in pity, but in awe. "You're strong, Tamazuki," he whimpered, realizing that even though the scorn of his clan may have been the reason why Tamazuki never stepped out of his hut until today, he was able to carry on while showing no signs whatsoever that something was hurting him.

Tamazuki looked back at him, acknowledging his presence. "Don't pity me regardless of what you've seen," he said, petting Inugami. Then for a second, relief seemed to flash in his eyes.

Everyone else in the mountain may have been seeing Tamazuki as a cold-hearted, emotionless failure of a yokai, but right now, as Inugami sat wagging his tail, he was able to see another side of Tamazuki- the Tamazuki underneath the surface.

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**And that's it for chapter four!  
Any comments? :)**


	5. Refraction of the Reflection, part 1

_**THAT WHICH GRANTS POWER OVER LIFE AND DEATH**_

If there was one word that could describe the mountains of Shikoku right now, it would be "chaotic". Inugami knew that, and he also knew that this wasn't the ordinary kind of chaos. No one was running or shouting, no one was wailing; in fact, it was actually pretty quiet. This was the kind of chaos where it's more-or-less peaceful, but you know something is wrong. And the cause of this chaos? An intruder.

As far as the white pup that was currently scratching his ears with his hind legs was concerned, this intruder was a powerful but clanless oni who infiltrated the Clan's territory. Fortunately or unfortunately, that oni did not seem to be interested in the Clan at all; it was after something else. Still, an intruder is an intruder.

Now thanks to all this trouble, Tamazuki had been very busy lately. Attending meetings, giving orders, gathering information and pretty much figuring out what to do about the issue.

"There is still one more I haven't asked," he now said.

Inugami stopped chasing his tail out of boredom and titled his head. He got on his feet and followed his master out the door.

With a swirl of leaves, Tamazuki teleported both himself and his puppy to the front of a small and slightly run-down hut in an area Inugami had never been to.

"Babadanuki," Tamazuki called out.

_Babadanuki!? _This name was not unfamiliar to the pup. He had heard gossip about an old and slightly blind soothsayer tanuki who lived somewhere in the mountains. The others had called her things like "demented" and "insane". Apparently, nobody ever believed what she said.

"Who is it?" Out came an old and graying female tanuki in a dark purple-colored kimono. "Tamazuki," she said, as if he wasn't the lord of the Shikoku yokai, "what brings you here?"

"I need to know what you've seen about this oni. What's his aim?"

At this, Babadanuki smiled. "You mean you weren't here for a visit?" she asked, shaking her head, "It seems like only yesterday you came by to have your fortune told again...after crying about how your brothers bullied you."

"Cut the nonsense and tell me what I want to know," Tamazuki snapped in a way that made Inugami jump back a little.

"Dear boy, what are you going to do if I don't? You have no power over me. Come inside, I have tea and you favorite sweets. Your friend is welcome inside, too," she calmly said, gesturing to Inugami. Another thing he heard about Babadanuki was that she was not actually part of the 88 Demons of Shikoku. Affiliated, but not a part.

"Your eyes haven't stopped shining. Good," Babadanuki said as soon as they got settled in. "I've always said that you were special. I never took it back. Not even after you showed me that evil sword. Not even after all you've done."

_She must have been like a grandmother to Tamazuki_, Inugami thought. This old tanuki lady seemed sweet, like the kind of grandmother everyone wanted.

"Anyways, from what I've seen in the leaves, what this oni wants is somewhere in these mountains, but it is not something that belongs to your clan." Babadanuki, like other tanuki, was an illusionist. She used leaves to create illusions, and these reacted to her Fear by becoming a medium for telling the future or to find out something about someone's current situation.

"It must be valuable if he was willing to enter into my clan's territory."

"Well, to be honest, your clan is weak and nothing to fear," she said, laughing.

Inugami shrank back a little and stepped away from Tamazuki. If his master got angry, he did not want to be caught up in it.

"But you are right about one thing. What he seeks is very valuable."

"And what is that?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. No one would."

"Is it a prophecy? Because if not, then I'll believe you. It's only the errors in your fortunes that I've experienced first hand."

"Do you mean YOUR fortune?" she asked. Then she began to laugh, "Oh, my dear boy! You misunderstood! Your fortune was that you would triumph in a great battle that would decide the fate of the world! Killing that young Nura boy and taking over Japan was not it."

Tamazuki sighed in a way that made him seem annoyed. "Fine, whatever. What's he after?"

"Do you remember that story about a warrior, a goddess and a mirror?"

"What..?" Inugami whined.

The old tanuki smiled and stroked the pup's soft fur. "I'll assume you haven't heard of it, my friend. The story is about a goddess who fell in love with a warrior. As a gift, she gave him a mirror that granted him power over life and death."

Tamazuki sipped his tea. "What about it?"

"It's true. Every word of it. And his grave is somewhere in these mountains, enshrining the mirror."

Tamazuki's eyes flashed. "And...assuming one were to somehow obtain this mirror, how would one be able to use it?"

Inugami jumped on Tamazuki's lap and curled up on it. He then noticed Babadanuki's expression turn grim, as if she just realized something. Then almost hesitantly, she spoke.

"As I've said, the mirror- the Seikatsu no Kagami- grants the power over life and death. Its owner can kill, resurrect and even alter the cycle of life. To take a life, one would only need a reflection of his target. Capture your target's reflection in it, and you can choose to take his life at whim."

Tamazuki rubbed the top of the pup's soft head. "And to return a life?"

"Well, one would need any of these three: the grave dirt of the one who is to be revived, the actual corpse of that one, or his reincarnation. Except in the case of the third, that would not quite count as returning life but rather, altering its cycle."

_With that, Tamazuki will be invincible!_ Inugami looked up at his master who now wore what would seem like a triumphant smirk.

"And... it is also said that the reflection of its user shows his true desires," Babadanuki added, as if she were trying to convey some kind of hidden message to Tamazuki.

"I see. Thank you for your time," he said, standing up. Tamazuki turned towards the door and started to leave.

"Tamazuki," Babadanuki said, no longer with a smile on her face. "What you seek... what you _truly_ seek- is much closer to you than you think."

Tamazuki nodded and stepped outside.

"You were made for great things!" the old tanuki shouted as leaves swirled around master and pup. Then right as they left, Babadanuki looked straight into Inugami's eyes.

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**FINALLY! I GET TO UPDATE!**

**The last time I updated was like what, last year? I didn't write for three months because I got real busy with schoolwork and the piles of things I had to submit and final exams. Then after all that ended and summer vacation started, I had to recover from science terms and numbers, shake off the writer's block and get inspiration somehow. **

**Anyways, that was the first out of four chapters that will be happening at around the same time belt, kind of like a "story arc". "Refraction of the Reflection: That Which Grants Power Over Life and Death" was actually supposed to be the chapter title, but I had to cut it to "Refraction of the Reflection, part 1" and place "That Which Grants Power Over Life and Death" at the start of the story because it was too long a title -_-" **

** Hope you enjoyed :) ****Any comments? Please review!**

**EDIT: I decided to actually give the mirror a name. It's now the "Seikatsu no Kagami" which means "Mirror of Life", if I did the translation right. **


	6. Refraction of the Reflection, part 2

_**EYES ON THE PRIZE**_

"Try to keep up."

It was the dead of the night and master and pup were making their way up a mountain.

Earlier that evening, Inugamigyobu Tamazuki had pulled out an old scroll he fished out of somewhere containing the legend of the goddess, the warrior and the Seikatsu no Kagami. The scroll had some painted pictures of things like rivers, statues of deities a or trees with strange markings- things Tamazuki soon figured out to serve as landmarks.

Once everyone was asleep, Tamazuki had sneaked outside. Naturally, Inugami followed but his master only told him to stay behind. It was only after persistent following did the cold tanuki allow the loyal inugami to follow. At the moment, they were on their way to their final destination as they walked through a light drizzle. The entire time, Tamazuki had not minded Inugami. The only time he'd speak to him is when the pup was falling behind or if the trail before them was dangerous. Inugami, of course, could see that Tamazuki fixed his heart and soul on getting that mirror.

The Seikatsu no Kagami- a mirror that had power of life and death. A mirror _so_ powerful that it could take life, return it, and even reverse its cycle. To Inugami, it was no surprise his master wanted it. Inugamigyobu Tamazuki was a yokai made for power, for greatness. The Devil's Hammer and the lives of his entire Night Parade may not have been enough, but with this mirror that legends spoke of, Tamazuki would be invincible. Tamazuki would have everything he ever wanted, everything he ever cared about. Power, fame, land... Yeah, that was everything he cared about...

Lost in his own thoughts and the strange heaviness forming in his chest, Inugami failed to notice Tamazuki suddenly stopping in front of him, resulting in a head-on collision with his leg. "Ouch," he whined. _Tamazuki what-_

Before he could finish that thought, Tamazuki spoke. "There it is."

Just ahead of them, was a gravestone. And lying on the base of that gravestone was a mirror. Round in shape, gold in trim, and shine radiating from it despite the fact that it was likely centuries old... the Seikatsu no Kagami. But before Inugami could leap for joy and run to it, Tamazuki suddenly took battle stance.

Inugami at first wondered what he was doing that for until his ears flattened against his head as he suddenly felt a dark presence. It felt, large, powerful, overwhelming and frightening- a yokai's Fear. There was another yokai there with them.

Both master and pup shifted left and right, eyes and ears both open to any signs of movement. Then just when they were ready to call it off as a false alarm, a gush of the strongest wind they've both ever felt knocked them backwards.

By now, the rain had gotten a little stronger. After being knocked backwards, Tamazuki was able to land back on his feet, albeit slipping a bit on some nearby puddles. Inugami on the other hand, was not so lucky and ended up yelping as he was slammed against a nearby tree.

"You okay?" Tamazuki asked, with his eyes still fixated on the mirror that was just ahead of him. Then without even turning back first to see if his puppy was indeed, okay, he summoned a swirl of leaves and faced the large yokai. "Leave," he said with utmost pride and authority. "I am the Inugamigyobu-tanuki Tamazuki, head of the 88 Demons of Shikoku and I have business with that mirror."

The yokai that now showed himself, was very large and muscular. His appearance was that of a fallen samurai: tattered clothing, disheveled hair and dented, cracked and dirtied armor. He wore on his face a mask and brandished a rusted katana though if one were to look closer, one would see that the katana was in fact not rusted, but _crusted_ with dried blood.

**"Be gone,"** it said in reply. **"I care not who you are. The Seikatsu no Kagami is not yours for the taking!"** And with that, he once more swung his sword, sending more gusts of wind in their direction.

Tamazuki dug his feet into the ground, maintaining his place. Inugami on the other hand, the defenseless little puppy he was, tried to dodge but ended up slipping on some mud and getting slammed against a root of a big tree. "Have it your way, then," Tamazuki said, his golden eyes shining more brightly than before. With a burst of his yokai Fear, leaves whirled violently around the battlefield, not only creating a vortex of wind, but also blinding his opponent.

The samurai struggled to see as leaves swirled around him violently. He began slashing rapidly in an attempt to clear a path to his opponent. The minute he caught a glimpse of Tamazuki, he swung his katana down sending him and leaves crashing against the bottom of a tree. **  
**

Inugami yelped, Tamazuki smirked. "Thank you for being so kind as to nicely mince up those leaves," he said with faux courtesy, "though normally used for medicinal purposes, when reacted with my Fear, the leaves beco-"

**"Such tricks will not work on me,"** the samurai interrupted, taking note of the corrosive effect of Tamazuki's poisons on him. **"Though I may be affected, these are nothing in comparison to my superior strength."** He pointed the tip of his sword at Tamazuki's chest. **"I know your reputation, young tanuki, and I will not hand over that mirror to one who would ever resort to such acts!"** And with that said, as Inugami scurried towards his master in panic, the samurai yokai drove his sword into Tamazuki.

Only, Tamazuki was not quite himself for the minute the sword made contact with him, he disappeared leaving only leaves behind. Unknown until now to both the samurai and Inugami, the cunning Tamazuki had been using an illusion of himself as a decoy opponent while he rushed to the Seikatsu no Kagami.

"So it seems you are the guardian of the Seikatsu no Kagami!" Tamazuki called out to him. By now, the sky was dark with storm clouds and the rains and winds had gotten much harder. It was dark and the only time you could clearly see something is if lightning flashed. And just as Tamazuki was about to leap and grab his prize, there was a flash of lightning, a roar of thunder and then a red oni was standing in front of him.

"The mirror is mine!" it shouted, as it brought its iron kanabo down on Tamazuki. Tamazuki dodged, though barely. Before the oni could strike again, the guardian of the mirror blocked and deflected his attack, sending down one of his own which pushed the oni back, and sent Tamazuki flying.

"Tamazuki!", Inugami barked out, getting on his feet and running with all his might against the wind from the storm, the wind from the yokai's Fear and the cold, hard rain towards his fallen master.

"I'm fine," Tamazuki said. Taking advantage of the ongoing battle between the oni and the guardian, he rushed once more to the gravestone, this time, with his puppy keeping as close to him as possible. He ran against the strong winds and rain that beat down on them, his eyes now more fixated on his goal more than ever before. But the oni had been watching them, and as soon as they were within range, he swung his kanabo at them.

Lightning flashed as Tamazuki was thrown backwards against some nearby rocks. Inugami, though, was sent nearly over the edge of the mountain and now struggled to climb back up to safety.

Inugami panicked, scratching against the wet and slippery ground in an attempt to get back up. "Tamazuki help!" he barked out, but between the strong rain and the loud thunder, he went unheard.

Tamazuki got up and made his way to the gravestone once more.

"Tamazuki, help!"

He dodged an incoming attack.

"Tamazuki, I can't hold out much longer!"

He reached for the Seikatsu no Kagami. By now, the poison in his leaves had already taken enough of an effect on his opponent for them to weaken and become disoriented, and the mirror was now only a few paces in front of him.

Inugami began to slide down the edge. "TAMAZUKI!" he barked loudly.

Now, this caught his master's attention. Tamazuki quickly looked to his direction. Seeing his puppy about to fall off the edge of the mountain, he shifted his feet to turn but before he could sprint, he stopped.

_Tamazuki, please! _Inugami saw the hesitance in Tamazuki's movements, and how he shifted in direction whenever he dodged an attack. Towards the mirror, then towards his puppy, then towards the mirror then back at his puppy again. Rain beat down on his face, but Inugami could see his dilemma quite plainly. His master was considering which to do first: save him, or take the Seikatsu no Kagami. He began clawing once more on the slippery edge. "Tamazuki!"

Tamazuki turned back towards the mirror.

_Are you going to choose power,_

Tamazuki turned back to his puppy.

_or are you going to choose me?_

The oni raised his kanabo just as he saw Tamazuki make a sharp turn and jump at the mirror.

_I understand that you'd choose power..._

He swung it down onto the ground.

_..but, PLEASE, at least don't let me die again!  
_

The force of the blow as well as the yokai Fear that was released with it was strong enough to throw Inugami off the edge of the mountain and rolling him down the slope before falling into the forest below. Lightning, rain... And Tamazuki- those were the last things he saw.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER. DUN DUN DUN. **

**Okay, I'm like back from the dead or something. Thing is, I had this goal of finishing both this and the sequel story over the summer but I lost my drive cus I didn't get any reviews and before I knew it, summer was already over. So yeah, REALLY late new chapter.  
**

**So anyway, about this chapter. This is my first time writing a chapter that had some action scenes in it and I had to try to avoid anything too violent since I honestly didn't want to have to raise the rating because of just one chapter. **

**Any comments? :)**


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